I’m Going to Need a Right Hand Man

Have you ever broached the subject of something and thought to yourself “how can I make this more interesting? How can I take this in a different direction?”

I like to think that we’ve all been there. I have certainly looked at work I’ve had to do in the same way over and over and wondered how I could make it more sustainable, more seamless, or heck, just more fun.

I love musicals. I love everything about musicals. I like to think this started in my infantile state, when my parents sang songs from Oklahoma! to me so that I would stop crying. I’ve yet to meet a musical I dislike – from Les Miserables to Rocky Horror, I’m there.

It should come as no surprise to you, then, that my latest obsession is Hamilton, a brilliant musical with music, lyrics and book written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. If you’ve heard of Hamilton, you’re probably joining me in this obsession. If you haven’t, let me give you an idea:

Hamilton is all about the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Right out of the gate, some people would see this is a musical about American History and get a glazed look in their eyes. Seriously? A musical about history? How boring can you get? (Disclaimer: This is not my opinion, because I was a history major.)

Hamilton has been nominated for 16 Tony Awards. That’s a pretty big deal. But what makes Hamilton so special?

It takes something familiar and spins it in a different direction.

Hamilton is composed primarily of rap songs. Do you want to hear a song about Alexander Hamilton joining forces with George Washington? Do you want this song to really pump you up? Then listen to “Right Hand Man”. Do you want to hear a song about General Lafayette getting incredibly hyped to fight? Listen to “Guns and Ships”. Fun fact: this song is the fastest song in the fastest paced musical theater production of all time.

Let’s circle back to the first point: Hamilton does something pretty cool, in that it takes a subject that many people would consider uninteresting and makes it an edge of your seat, updated, unparalleled experience. I’m not saying that you need to turn your customer conference calls into a rapid fire rap exchange, but if Hamilton can make American History a modern and edgy experience, I think we can all certainly step out of our normal, our everyday experiences, and figure out how to put twists on common practices. Nothing has to be boring, rigid or streamlined. Make your everyday something that you enjoy.